When I was younger (pre-marriage and pre-children), I used to wonder why 
my mother cared so much about dead people, or people she was related to 
but had never met.  After I married and discovered that my husband couldn't 
even tell me the names of his first cousins (and he doesn't have that many), I 
thought about my mother and began to write down as much family history as I 
could from my husband's living relatives.

It didn't take long for me to "catch the bug."  I get so involved when doing 
research that hours and hours pass by and I've never even suspected how 
many.  (I'm sure most of you can identify with this.)

My mother taught me to always send a SASE with every mail request and to 
pay for copies of things I'd requested.  BUT - without her having told me that 
this is both courteous and expected, I think it would have taken me a while to 
figure it out.  I don't think I'm not polite - I just would have gotten too 
excited about finding something new and would have totally missed the fact 
that any help demands - at the very least - a decent thank you.  You may 
call me ill-bred, ignorant, or whatever you like, but I know how completely 
stupid I can be when I'm distracted.  I've never intentionally ignored anyone's 
help, but I can't help but wonder - even with my mother's instructions - 
whether I've offended someone who helped me somewhere along the line.  

Cynthia Gooch - Phoenix, AZ

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